Big Brother Will Improve Tunnel Vision

BRADEN

If you ever travel the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Lehighton and Allentown, be thankful that Mike Pandolfo has tunnel vision.

He shared it with me last week. From our vantage point above the south end of the Lehigh Tunnel, Pandolfo and I watched a steady stream of cars and trucks disappear into or dart out of the concrete tubes that stretch just shy of a mile through the belly of the Blue Mountain, between Carbon and Lehigh counties.

That visit with Pandolfo marked the first time I'd been in the tunnel office. Pandolfo's been holing up there since he was named tunnel superintendent in 1984.

At first glance, it seems to be an easy, low-stress job. Pandolfo just kind of watches traffic. But soon after we began talking, I changed my mind. He oversees tunnel safety, and that's a big responsibility.

I pass through the tunnel on my way to work every day, and wonder what would happen if my car or the one in front of me broke down in the tunnel, or if there was an accident.

Pandolfo said the tunnel is staffed 24 hours a day, with three workers on each of three eight-hour shifts. When they're not adjusting the fans that clear carbon monoxide from the tunnel or looking out the windows, they have to increase or decrease lighting in the northbound tunnel. Lighting in the southbound tunnel, which opened in November, is adjusted automatically via sensors.

When Pandolfo or another worker sees that traffic has slowed, somebody investigates. Besides the window-watching, Pandolfo said somebody looks inside the tunnels about every 15 minutes.

If there's an accident or breakdown, yellow caution lights at the tunnel entrances are activated, and

workers try to halt traffic with hand-held signs. But some drivers don't pay attention and Pandolfo has seen workers have to jump out of the way.

Once traffic stops, Pandolfo calls out the tunnel's tow truck to remove the problem, and traffic flow resumes. Some drivers, he said, just aren't too smart. Several have tried to change flat tires inside the tunnel.

Cars or trucks stuck inside the tunnel pose a great threat, because other drivers sit there with their engines running, and some of them toss cigarettes out their windows, creating a fire hazard because of oil on the roadway and fumes.

Not long ago, he said, someone dropped off a kitten inside the tunnel. Pandolfo pulled it from a drain pipe. A turnpike worker adopted the kitten, named it TC (for Tunnel Cat) and gave it a home. Another time, he said, someone dumped off a fully grown cat that must have liked the tunnel, because Pandolfo said it nearly tore off his hand when he plucked it from the floor.

When I told Pandolfo I didn't envy him his job, he touched a bank of computers, monitors, dials, levers, switches, printers, alarms and a bunch of other gadgets and smiled. The electronic devices, he said, are scheduled to be hooked up early next month. And they're sure to make his job a lot easier and more efficient.

He flipped on a large color monitor and switched from screen to screen. The computer system, he explained, will set off an alarm when traffic speed falls below a pre-set level. That alarm will let tunnel workers know there's a problem. A series of smoke detectors will alert workers to fire and switch fans to high speed.

Also planned is a series of television cameras that will put project pictures on monitors. Pandolfo said the cameras will let him zoom in and see what's going on immediately, so he can order a remedy.

He looks forward to the up-close looks, because he said somebody spray-painted graffiti inside the new tunnel a few weeks ago. With the cameras, workers will be able to record license numbers and send police to investigate.

"I think this will really make operations run a lot smoother," Pandolfo said, gesturing toward the equipment. I told him I felt better knowing he keeps a close eye on the tunnel.